Zero Wing is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and originally published in Japan by Namco and in North America by Williams Electronics. Controlling the ZIG space fighter craft, players assume the role of protagonist Trent in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien cyborg CATS. It was the eighth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their fourteenth video game overall.
Toaplan Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo responsible for the creation of a wide array of scrolling shooters and other arcade video games. The company was founded in 1979 but its gaming division was established in 1984 by former Orca and Crux employees, who wanted to make games, after both companies declared bankruptcy. Their first shoot 'em up game, Tiger-Heli (1985) on arcades, was a success and helped establish Toaplan as a leading producer of shooting games throughout the 1980s and 1990s that would continue to characterize their output.
Irem Software Engineering is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Tiger-Heli is a vertically scrolling shooter game developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1985. It was published in Japan by Taito and in North America by Romstar. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the player must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The Tiger-Heli has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can clear the screen of enemies when fired. It was the first shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their third video game overall.
Twin Cobra, known as Kyukyoku Tiger in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1987 by Taito in Japan and Europe, then in North America by Romstar. It is a sequel to the 1985 arcade game Tiger-Heli. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. It was the fourth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their tenth video game overall. It was ported to multiple platforms, with each done by different third-party developers that made several changes or additions.
Batsugun is a 1993 vertically scrolling bullet hell arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as Korea by Unite Trading. The last shoot 'em up created by Toaplan, the title takes place on a distant Earth-like planet where a global takeover operative led by king Renoselva A. Gladebaran VII is set into motion, as players assume the role from one of the six fighter pilots conforming the Skull Hornets squadron taking control of submersible jets in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invading military force from the planet. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting mixed with role-playing game-esque elements using a main two-button configuration.
Seibu Kaihatsu Inc. was a Japanese manufacturer of arcade games. The company was founded in 1982 at Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan as Seibu Denshi Inc. (有限会社セイブ電子), but changed to its current name sometime in 1984. It is currently owned by Hitoshi Hamada.
CAVE Interactive Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game company founded in 1994 by former employees of Toaplan following its bankruptcy. They are known primarily for their "bullet hell" shoot 'em ups; from 1995 up to 2013, CAVE was one of the most prolific shoot 'em up developers in the Japanese market. Alongside this, CAVE has produced a variety of other types games for arcades, home consoles, PCs, and smartphones, also dating back to 1995.
Psikyo was a Japanese video game developer and publisher known for its shoot 'em ups and undressing mahjong games. It was founded in 1992 by former Video System staff who worked on the Aero Fighters series. Psikyo was mainly an arcade game developer, and ported some of their games to home consoles as well.
DonPachi is a 1995 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Cave and published by Atlus in Japan. Players assume the role of a recruit selected to take part on a secret military program by assaulting enemy strongholds in order to become member of the "DonPachi Squadron".
MileStone Inc. was a Japanese video game developer. The team was composed mostly of ex-Compile developers who left to form their own company. They were best known for shoot 'em up games developed for the Dreamcast and its arcade counterpart, the Sega NAOMI.
Noise Factory Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer and publisher based out of Osaka, it was one of the developer companies of SNK, established by former Atlus staff members who previously worked on Princess Crown for Sega Saturn. Its more known games were Gaia Crusaders, Sengoku 3 and the new games of Rage of the Dragons & Power Instinct.
Takumi Corporation was a Japanese video game company founded in 1994 that is famous for developing arcade shoot 'em ups.
Gazelle Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1994 by former Toaplan employees after the latter company declared bankruptcy the same year.
Grind Stormer is a 1993 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and North America. It is considered to be the spiritual successor to Slap Fight. Based around a video game within a video game concept, players assume the role of a young secret agent assigned by the government taking control of the NA-00 space fighter craft in an attempt to defeat the titular virtual reality simulator, rescue the abducted players who lost against it and unveil its true purpose.
Sorcer Striker is a 1993 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Raizing and published in 1993 by Able Corporation in Japan and Europe. In the game, players assume the role from one of the four bounty hunters to overthrow the Goblin empire led by King Gobligan and reclaim the bounty placed by King Codwenna of Violent Kingdom over Gobligan's head. It is the first entry in the Mahō Daisakusen trilogy, which includes Kingdom Grand Prix and Dimahoo, and the first video game to be created by Raizing.
Knuckle Bash is a 1993 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan in Japan, as well as North America and Europe by Atari Games. It is notable for being one of the few titles by Toaplan that has not received any official port to home consoles as of date.
Repulse is a fixed shooter arcade video game developed by Crux and published by Sega on June 1985. In the game, players battle against the invading Aquila nation to defend Earth from world domination. The title is notable for being created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Orca and Crux before both companies declared bankruptcy, after which a group of employees from the two gaming divisions would go on to form Toaplan.
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon is a side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Gazelle and released on March 22, 1995. It was published by Banpresto. It is the first game to be created by Gazelle, one of the offshoots of defunct developer Toaplan that were founded after they declared bankruptcy in 1994, and one of the few titles based upon Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon shōjo manga and anime series that had an official international release, and it also has been compared with other titles in the same genre such as Capcom's Final Fight and Technōs Japan's Double Dragon.
Dogyuun is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan. Set on the colonized fictional planet of Dino in the future, where an alien race of metallic robots have invaded a police communication center and held its inhabitants as hostages, players assume the role of two fighter pilots taking control of the Sylfers bomber space fighter crafts in an revenge attempt to overthrow the invaders and free the surviving colonists after one of their comrades is killed by one of them during a reconnaissance assignment.
